China Unicom joins hand with Spanish carrier on big data services

China Unicom, the country’s second-largest telecom career by subscribers, and Spanish carrier Telefonica, S.A. set up a joint venture on Tuesday to offer big data services in China.

The new unit, named Smart Steps Digital Technology Co Ltd, will be 55 percent owned by China Unicom, with Telefonica taking care of the rest.

China Unicom said in a press release that the new company will offer better location-based and navigating services by using anonymized and aggregated mobile network data to capture trends about footfall by time, gender, and age.

The State-owned company did not specify the registered capital for the new unit but said the new service will help companies and government organizations to better understand and serve the needs of their customers and citizens, so as to reduce costs through increased efficiency.

The new venture is the latest partnership deal between China Unicom and Telefonica, which became strategic partners in 2009. The two companies have been working closely on various areas to help each other better meet digital challenges.